FFXIV OC Fanfiction 13: Ghost From the Past
by blacklegheat
Summary: After Asugi is reunited with his brother, their heartwarming reunion doesn't go to plan leading to the appearance of an long forgotten face belonging to one of the member's past.


"Leave this place at once." The brown-haired Au Ra demanded in a stern voice.

"But Gaius-" The red-headed Au Ra began before he was quickly interrupted.

"Enough. You are our dead father's child, not my mother's. I will not suffer the company of any of that fool's offspring. We may be related by blood but make no mistake you are not my family." He stated coldly.

"Hey jerk, you can't just speak to him like that, we traveled halfway across Hydaelyn just so he could see you and this is how you treat him?!" Sarya growled suddenly as she barged between the two.

"It was a fool's endeavor, you never should have come here. Now leave." Gaius said bluntly as he glared at the girl.

"Sarya... Let's just go..." Asugi sighed as he placed a hand on the woman's shoulder before they both turned back towards the large entrance.

"I'll break his legs..." She mumbled to herself as she reluctantly followed along. The pair exited the building, and prepared themselves to once again enter the thick forests that the main path from the building led to, the female companion praying that they didn't end up lost on their own.

"Wait!" A shout came from behind as a dark-skinned Roegadyn woman chased to catch up, followed by Robyn and Leona. "Are you really Gaius' brother?"

"Paris? Yeah... Although it seems like that doesn't really mean anything to him." Asugi answered as he faced the women.

"Aww... No, I can't accept this. I won't watch as my beloved Gaius casts away his own brother. Asugi, I am going to help reunite you two!" Paris exclaimed passionately to the confused looking Au Ra.

"I appreciate your eagerness to help but how exactly do you plan to do that?" Asugi questioned.

"Well, Gaius values skills and competence very highly, which are traits I believe you have. If you can show him this and prove yourself then hopefully he'll be willing to accept you." She explained.

"Hmm well it does sound like a good 'idea' but I don't know if it will work out, I mean how would I even do that if he doesn't even want to look at me?" Asugi asked as he awkwardly rubbed his neck while beginning to ponder to himself.

"That's why we're here to help." Paris smiled as the pair beside her nodded. "I have a place in Thanalan where you can stay for the time being. Only housekeepers live there at the moment so you have nothing to worry about. We'll go there, get you two settled in and we can start from there."

"Why are you doing this for us? It's not like you owe us anything it seems a bit strange to be willing to help us this much." Sarya asked, voicing her suspicions.

"All I want is for Gaius to be happy, and if he has troubles with his past that can be turned into a positive situation then I want to do anything I can to help." The Roegadyn answered sincerely. Asugi stood there for a moment in silent contemplation before looking up at the woman and smiling.

"Alright, if you believe you can make this work then I'll take any help I can get. Thank you." He said as he bowed.

"Then let us make way for the Goblet." Paris instructed cheerfully as she took lead of the group and began heading down a trail through the forest. They slowly made their way through the thick, labyrinth-like maze of trees and bushes that protected the Company Building from any unwanted intruders or wanderers. The group's spirits had raised steadily after what had happened earlier, chatting among themselves and laughing over past stories until suddenly their banter was cut short by the sound of something shooting through the air before an object struck the ground right in front of Robyn, missing her head by a mere inch.

"What the Hells? An arrow?!" She yelled angrily while alerting the others and looking around for the source of the attack. The Miqo'te quickly looked over her shoulder as something caught her attention and immediately hastened backwards as a volley of arrows struck the ground at her feet, striking the ground and leaving a trail from where to was to just in front of where she now stood. "Show yourself, coward! Get over here right now and I'll only beat you half to death!" She shouted angrily.

"Since when were you ever one to fight? You've always been the coward, run away like you're used to!" A male voice echoed throughout the forest as another arrow shot down towards her from another direction, grazing her arm as Robyn barely managed to dodge in time.

"Argh, get over here and fight already, damn it!" She growled in pain.

"That pain is nothing compared to the pain I've endured because of you. I'll make sure to avenge everyone for what you've done! You're not getting away this time..." The man ended with a mumble as he began to draw another arrow and take aim again. Paris saw a glint out of the corner of her eye as the sunlight reflected off of the arrowhead being loaded onto the bow held by a figure on top of a distant tree.

"DON'T YOU DARE HURT HER AGAIN!" Paris screamed as she rushed forward, a large aetheric long-sword formed in her hands and a deep red aura enveloped her as she proceeded onward. She came to a halt, stomping a foot on the ground in front of her and with a mighty swing cleaved straight across the tree trunk, bringing it crashing down as a figure swiftly leaped from it's perch. The group stood there in awe for a moment at the sight they just witnessed.

"Paris? Since when have you fought with a weapon? That was amazing!" Leona asked excitedly.

"Well the art of Magic comes in many forms, studying the arts of the Dark Knights has been my latest topic of research." Paris explained, quickly catching her breath before the moment of calm was interrupted by another arrow, this time aimed at her. Quickly leaping out of the way, Paris looked carefully among the trees for her attacker before charging in and slicing away at the one she suspected him to be hiding in. There was a loud creak followed by a crash as it tumbled to the ground, but the assailant was no where in sight.

"This doesn't concern you, this is between Robyn and I. Anyone who interferes will be executed." The voice shouted.

"Who in the Seven Hells are you and how do you know me?" Robyn shouted in frustration.

Sarya quickly looked back and made several strange hand gestures in quick succession before a burst of lightning struck a tree in the distance which came toppling down as a figure could be seen fleeing from it. Paris who acted instinctively rushed towards it but was met with a volley of arrows that blocked her path and chased her as she quickly took refuge behind the nearest tree.

"Sarya!" Asugi shouted as the woman nodded and sprinted forward. The woman dashed towards the attacker as he was busy with Paris and began throwing small, sharp blades swiftly towards the treetops in the distance. Taking his attention off the Roegadyn, the archer began to target the Auri woman instead before she disappeared out of sight with a puff of smoke.

"What...? Impossible!" The man gasped to himself as he looked around for his target.

"Looking for me?" Sarya taunted from directly behind him as she readied her blade before he quickly repelled and leaped back to another tree. "Paris, you're turn!"

"On it!" She answered already in the middle of hastily scribbling a summoning ritual in her tome she always kept with her. A shine emitted from the book as a bright green form rose forth and spread it's wings with a cry before quickly shooting up into the sky and diving towards the attacker, spinning frantically and creating a whirlwind that sent the man flying down and crashing in front of the nearby group. Sarya jumped down from the trees below, daggers in hand and landed right next to the man, kneeling down and placing a blade against his throat, the captive shifting his eyes down towards them as he broke out of his temporary daze. He was a young Miqo'te with blue hair covering half his face and bright azure eyes dressed in dirty work clothes. Robyn made her way towards him and stomped a foot down on his stomach, standing over him before bending down lower towards his face.

"Who are you and what do you want with me? Answer me!" She demanded as the winded Miqo'te tried to catch his breath.

"I guess you don't recognize me. Although I don't blame you, it has been about ten years now." He replied.

"Ten years..." Robyn began to ponder before her expression began to change.

"Indeed, ten years since our village was engulfed in flames after a Voidsent attacked. Have you forgotten? You were the one who was supposed to find help in the nearby town, but instead you just ran and never came back."

"Wait... N'athys? I can't believe it's you... But you're wrong, I didn't run away!"

"Is that so? Then explain why our village was reduced to a pile of ashes. Explain to me how the only people who weren't killed that night was the girl who ran off and the weak Miqo'te boy who hid in a cellar while everyone screamed above?"

"I-"

"No! Everyone is dead because of you. I've spent the last ten years on my own. I buried what remained of the dead, I rebuilt my home, I had to tend my own crops and hunt for food so I wouldn't starve, I had to live knowing that everyone I knew and loved died and there was nothing I could do to protect them, and the one person who could have possibly helped to save us just fled to save herself!"

"Stop it, you're wrong!" Robyn shouted as she knelt down over the Miqo'te gripping his shoulders tightly and glared at him with both sadness in frustration. "I didn't flee, I headed towards the nearby town like I was told to do except monsters attacked me, there was nothing I could do! I had no choice but to keep running because if I didn't I'd be killed and then who would call for help? I went to the village a while later after I had finally escaped but by then it was already too late. I did all I could..." She ended softy as she began sobbing and rose up off the man.

"Well your efforts left us in ruin, you failed everyone." N'athys replied as he got to his feet.

"And who are you to say that?!" Robyn shouted as she shoved the Miqo'te who was knocked off his feet and fell to the ground once more. "You said you did nothing but hide! Why did you not go to seek help? Don't forget that I lost all my friends and family too, you're not the only one to have suffered for all these years."

"Then if you care so much why have you never returned?" He asked while stumbling back to his feet again.

"Because I've moved on. I've made my own family, my own friends. I'm always looking towards the future. Just because you've trapped yourself in a tragic past this last decade doesn't mean that I want to. One day you have to let this all go and move on before this tragedy consumes you any more than it already has."

"Spare me that drivel, I have my own aspirations in life that I wish to achieve for my future, you know nothing about me.." N'athys replied and he knelt down to pick up his bow before looking Robyn in the eyes. "This is not over, we shall cross paths again." He warned before sprinting off, leaping into one of the trees and suddenly disappearing from sight. Sarya clutched her blades and readied herself to go after him but Robyn simply shook her head.

"Don't worry about him, I'm sure he'll simmer down in time. Maybe all this will give him something to reflect on and change his views. Anyway we have more important things to worry about, right Paris?" Robyn asked with a smile.

"Right. Time to work on fixing my beloved's relationship with his long-lost brother." Paris replied cheerfully as the group began to continue on their travels.


End file.
